Central Banks Around The World Buying Gold Heavily, 477 Tons In 2014

Do they know something they are not telling us?

Governments added 477.2 metric tons to their reserves, the second-biggest increase in 50 years and 17 percent more than a year earlier, the World Gold Council said in a report Thursday. Based on the average price of gold in 2014, central banks probably paid about $19.4 billion. A Boeing 787-9 has a $257.1 million retail price, according to the company’s website.

Central banks have added to gold reserves for the past five years, a reversal from two decades of selling since the late 1980s. Purchases will be at least 400 tons this year, according to estimates from the London-based council, which represents 17 gold producers. Total demand for gold fell last year as Chinese consumers bought less jewelry, bars and coins.

“There is a lot of scope for emerging market central banks to expand their holdings as these are still significantly underweight,” Alistair Hewitt, head of market intelligence at the council, in a phone interview on Wednesday. “Demand from this sector is going to remain robust.”

Russia was the biggest buyer of gold, while Ukraine sold the most as fighters from both countries clashed along Ukraine’s eastern border.